UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OP THE INTERIOR GEOLOGICAL SURVEY HYDROCARBON RESOURCE REPORT FOR PROPOSED OCS SALE NO. 83 NAVARIN BASIN, ALASKA by M. S. Marlow, P. Carlson, A. K. Cooper, H. Karl, H. McLean, R. McMullin, and M. B. Lynch Open-File Report 81-252 This report is preliminary and has not been reviewed for conformity with U.S. Geological Survey editorial standards and nomenclature. Any use of trade names is for descriptive purposes only and does not constitute endorsement by the USGS. 1981 ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1. Location of proposed OCS Lease Sale #83............ 4 Figure 2. Trackline chart of 24-channel seismic-reflecton profiles..............................*.............5 Figure 3. Generalized geologic map of western Alaska.......... 7 Figure 4. Location map of selected cross sections across the Navarin basin......................................12 Figure 5. Generalized cross section across the Koryak Range..13 Figure 6. Interpretive drawing of seismic-reflection profile A-B........................................ 15 Figure 7. Interpretive drawing of seismic-reflection profile C-D........................................ 18 Figure 8. Structure contour map of acoustic basement in the Navarin basin......................................20 Figure 9. Location map of Anadyr and Khatyrka basins......... 25 Figure 10. Location of dredge sites along the Bering Sea continental margin.................................31 Figure 11. Location map for seismic profiles shown in Figures 12 and 13............................... 35 Figure 12. Seismic profiles B99 and L4 collected along slope of Navarin basin............................. 40 Figure 13. Seismic profiles L13 and L46 collected along slope of Navarin basin............................. 41 Figure 14* Preliminary map of fault traces and gas-charged sediment areas*........................44 Figure 15. Preliminary map of identified areas of submarine landslides............................... 47 Figure 16. Preliminary map of sediment types in Navarin Basin.49 Figure 17. Outline of proposed OCS Lease Sale #83............. 56 TABLES Table 1. Geochemical analyses and physical properties of rocks from the Bering Sea............................ 32 Table 2. BSR Types Found in the Bering Sea.................... 37 Table 3. Estimates of Undiscovered Recoverable Oil and Gas, Navarin Shelf........................... 58 Table 4. Estimates of Total Undiscovered Recoverable Oil and Gas, Navarin Shelf........................... 59 TABLE OF CONTENTS Summary 1 Introduction....................................................3 Location of Proposed Lease Area............................... 3 Publicly Available Data.......................................3 Framework Geology...............................................6 Regional Geologic Setting of the Northwestern Bering Sea Shelf................................................... 6 Geology of Western Alaska..................................... 8 Geology of St. Lawrence and St. Matthew Islands...............9 Geology of Eastern Siberia.................................... 9 Structural Framework and Evolution of Navarin Basin............ 11 Seismic-Reflection Data......................................11 Profile A-B............................................... 11 Profile C-D............................................... 16 Structure Contours........................................17 Geologic History.............................................21 Mesozoic Structural Trends................................ 22 Cenozoic Subsidence.......................................22 Petroleum Geology..............................................23 Soviet Exploration in Eastern Siberia........................ 24 Anadyr Basin.................. 24 .Khatyrka Basin............................................ 28 Petroleum Geology of Dredge Samples Adjacent to Navarin Basin ................................................. Province 30 Source Beds............................. .... 30 Traps.....................................................32 Significance of Bottom Simulating Reflectors- Gas Hydrate Zone and Diagenetic Boundary............... 34 Seafloor Geologic Hazards......................................42 Faulting and Seismicity...................................... 42 Seafloor Instability.........................................45 Submarine Landslides......................................45 Sediment Transport and Erosion............................ 48 Sediment Types.........................................48 Large Bedforms.........................................48 Surface Waves..........................................50 Gas-Charged Sediment......................................51 Volcanic Activity.............................................. 52 Ice............................................................ 5 3 Ranking of Areas Considered Prospective for Hydrocarbon Deposits.........................................54 Hydrocarbon Resource Appraisal.................................55 Operational Considerations.....................................59 Technology/ Infrastructure, and Time Frame................... 59 Estimated Facilities......................................... 62 Manpower and Drilling Equipment Availability.................65 Weather......................................................66 Access.......................................................68 References Cited...............................................69 SUMMARY Recent seismic-reflection surveys reveal a frontier province of exceptional size--the Navarin basin province--beneath the northwestern Bering Sea shelf. Structure contours drawn on acoustic basement define three basins within the province; the basins contain strata 10 to 15 km thick and underlie more than 2 45,000 km (11 million acres) of the Bering Sea shelf. Tertiary mudstone dredged from the continental slope averages more than 0.33 percent (range of .33 to .88) organic carbon, and Cretaceous mudstone along the continental slope in Pribilof Canyon contains as much as 1 percent organic carbon. However, these mudstones may not be correlative with the lower sequences in the Navarin basin because the stratigraphically lower beds wedge out against the flanks of the basin. Eocene to Pliocene diatomaceous mudstones exposed on the continental slope have porosities ranging from 14 to 68 percent (average, 48 percent). Neogene reservoir beds may be present in the adjacent Navarin province because sedimentation has matched subsidence, which averaged 100 to 200 m/10 yr during Cenozoic time. Also, during Neogene time the Navarin basins were fed by major Alaskan and Siberian rivers, e.g., the Yukon, Kuskokwim, and Anadyr rivers. Large anticlinal structures in the northern half of the province that may have diapiric cores, structures associated with growth faults along the flanks of the basins' strata draped over basement blocks, and stratigraphic pinch outs and discordances in exploration, including the drilling of stratigraphic test wells is needed to define this frontier province* Geologic processes in the Navarin basin province include several which are potentially hazardous to commercial development. Although the Navarin basin province presently appears to be aseismic and no faults mapped to date rupture the sea-floor, several faults indicate movement in the last 12,000 years and, thus, are potentially active. Submarine landslides evince unstable sediment masses in the heads of Zhemchug, Pervenets, and Navarinsky submarine canyons and on the continental slope. Large sediment waves in the heads of these canyons could be hazardous if active. Intense storms produce exceptionally large waves which are not only capable of eroding bottom sediments, but also are dangerous to surface structures and vessels. Gas-charged sediment, present throughout a large part of the basin, has reduced strength and bearing capacity as compared to strength of gas-free sediment. Volcanic activity is a hazard of low probability. Migratory pack ice is a yearly occurrence and could pose a significant problem during years of heavy concentrations. INTRODUCTION Location of Proposed Lease Area This report is a summary of data concerning the Navarin basin province and the surrounding portion of the northern Bering Sea shelf. The proposed lease area is bounded on the north by 63°N latitude/ on the northwest by the U.S.-Russia Convention Line of 1867, on the east by the 174°W meridian, on the south by 58°N latitude, and on the southwest by the 2400-meter bathymetric contour defining the base of the slope of the Bering Sea (Beringian) continental margin (Fig. 1). The authors thank John Barron, Robert Arnal, and Paula Quinterno of the U.S. Geological Survey and Hugh Wingate of Cities Service Co. for identifying fossils from dredge samples. Jeffrey Fischer, Kenneth Johnson, David M. Jones, Margaret Kingston and Beth Lamb, prepared the illustrations and assisted with the text. Dorothy Sicard and La Vernne Hutchison processed the manuscript. Publicly Available Data Recent interest in the resource potential, including the hydrocarbon prospects of the Bering Sea, has stimulated marine geophysical and geologic mapping of the area. Since 1970 the U.S. Geological Survey has conducted numerous expeditions to the Bering Sea, and three of these cruises resulted in the collection of more than 970 km of 24-channel seismic-reflection data over the northwestern Bering Sea shelf in the vicinity of the Navarin basin province (Fig. 2). Data presented in this report were 3 SIBERIA NAVARIN BASIN